Shoe.



No. 643,660. Patented Feb. 20, I900. A. A. KDHN.

SHOE.

{Applicafiion filed Nov. 30, 1897.)

(No Model.)

WITNESS INVENTUH fl l/m cl M4 4 /{W f ATTURIIEY UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALFRED A. KOI-IN, OF MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA.

iSHDE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 643,660, dated February 20, 1900.

Application filed November 30 1897. Serial No. 660,213. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALFRED A. KOHN, a citizen of the United States, residing in Montgomery, county of Montgomery, State of Alabama, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Shoes, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in the class of shoes wherein the vamp and the major part of the sides are all made in a single piece of material.

One object of the invention is to so arrange the button-flap that it will act to prevent tearing of the shoe at the lower part of the front opening.

Another object of the invention is to so arrange the blank for the shoe that the sides at the part that encircles the leg of the wearer may be of such width as to allow the shoe to be properly buttoned around that portion of the leg.

The invention consists in the novel details of improvement and the combinations of parts, that will be more fully hereinafter set forth and then pointed out in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming part hereof, wherein- Figure 1 is a perspective view of a shoe embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a face view of a blank, showing how the parts of the shoe are cut; and Fig. 3 is a similar view showing the top parts of the blank pulled apart to illustrate the manner of completing the blank.

In the accompanying drawings, in which similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several views, the letter A indicates generallya shoe in which the vamp a, the quarters b, and the sides 0, except at the upper front edge of one side, are all made in a single piece of leather or other suitable material.

B is a button-flap shown provided with buttonholes, and the flap Bis sewed along the edge (1 at the front opening of the shoe, and the lower part B of the flap is laid over the vamp and is stitched thereto at (1. Thus there is no lump formed at the lower part of the instep, as is usual where a button-flap passes between a vamp and quarter that are in separate pieces stitched together. Futhermore, by having the flap laid over the vamp and stitched thereto the part B of the flap serves to prevent the vamp from tearing at the lower end of the front opening of the shoe, and the seamless area of stock relieves the strain across the vamp,where the seaming of regular button-shoes very often comes too high or too low, therebyinjuring the feet, no such injury occurring with my shoe.

In Figs. 2 and 3 I have shown the manner of cutting a blank so as to produce an improved shoe, with the side to which the flap B is attached having the proper width at the upper end. This is done as follows: The piece of material for the shoe is cut with a V- shaped opening D at one part and is cut in suitable shape along the lines d to produce the back seam and is out along the lines e to produce the quarters and vamp and may have suitable shape f at the toe to enable the ma* terial to be properly crimped at that point. From the point 9 to the point It the blank is severed on a straight line, which passes over the instep, and from the point (1 to the point 61 the blank is cut on a line extending to one side of line 9 it into one side, thus forming an edge from the point 01 of the back of the shoe to the point 01 which becomes the top edge of one side. From the point d the blank is cut to the point h, thus forming a tongue E on one of the sides which projects toward the front opening of the shoe, the front opening of the shoe being formed along the line 9 72/ d Thus in the side of the blank opposite to the tongue E is formed a recess F. (See Fig. 3.) It will thus be seen that one of the sides is wider along the top edge (1 d of the blank than would be possible if the blank were cut on a straight line g 61 as shown partly by full and dotted lines in Fig. 2, which would be an ordinary way of forming a front opening for a shoe. Thus the vamp, the whole of one side, and all of the other side, with the ex ception of a recess in its upper front edge, are made in a single piece of material. The re cess F is filled out by a piece of material G, which is sewed to the side along the edges of the recess F, so as to extend the side outwardly to replace the tongue E, that was out out of the corresponding side. By preference the inserted piece G is extended forwardly from the point 0' to the point 0 thus forming a straight edge along the upper surface of the side from c to 0 The advantage of having the tongue E at the upper front part of the corresponding side is that from the point It to the upper line of the side the front edge of the tongue can be cut straight or on any suitable curve, as shown by dotted line, to produce the desired appearance at the upper part of the side while giving that part of the side the necessary width, and the inserted piece G may be likewise cut for the same purpose. The piece G not only fills out the recess F at the upper front corner of the side, butis adapted to have the buttons H attached thereto, so as to bring them sufficiently far forward to receive the buttonholes on the flap B; but it is evident that if the piece G is not used the shoe will be entirely practical, as the button-flap 13 extends over and hides the recess F when the shoe is buttoned, as indicated in Fig. 2 by dotted lines, and the buttons can all be secured to the corresponding side, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 2. After the blank is cut,as described, it will be crimped into form and secured together along the back edges d d, and the arrangement of cutting the stock so as to produce the tongue E lessens the time and expense in fitting the upper and produces a more finished appearance and a better construction in many respects, it being observed that the fiap B will overlap and conceal the inserted piece G when the shoe is buttoned around the leg. It will be understood that the button-flap B is to be sewed t0 the shoe-upper along the line g h and also along the line d h of the tongue E and that when so arranged the shoe has a complete finished appearance on one side without any seams or inserted pieces being seen. It will also be understood that the inserted piece G, by completing or filling out the side 0 at the recess F, gives a finished appearance to the corresponding edge I of the front opening of the shoe. The arrangement also produces a saving of time infitting the parts together and economy in material, as scraps or pieces of leather or other suitable material may be used for the part G. Thus out of a single piece of material I produce an entire practical button-shoe upper in which the vamp and sufficient of the sides for practical purposes are all in a single piece of material.

I am aware that attempts have been made to produce a shoe with the vamp and a large portion of the sides in a single piece of material; but in all such shoes, so far as I am aware, so much stock has been cut from one side to complete the other side that it has been necessary to insert a block or gore in the first-mentioned side to make a sufficiently full sized side to meet the requirements of a button-shoe. This inserted block or gore necessitates the making of a seam along the side of the shoe, which shows when the shoe is worn. My shoe differs from such shoes in the fact that the vamp and both sides are fully made in a single piece of material with the exception of a small recess in the upper front corner of one side above the ankle, which recess is covered by the button-flap when it is buttoned, and thus a shoe having no seam showing in its vamp or sides is the result.

Having now described my invention, What I claim is 1. A shoe-upper having a vamp, two sides, and a flap, one side extending above the ankle from the back to the front opening in the same piece of material as the vamp but having a cut-out part in its top front corner the lower edge of which is above the instep and ankle, the other side extending from the back to the front opening above the ankle in the same piece of material as the vamp, the back edges of the sides being secured together, said flap being secured to the complete side at the edge of the front opening and having its lower end laid upon the vamp and secured thereto, said flap overlying the cut-out part of the other side when buttoned, substantially as described.

2. A shoe-upper having a vamp, two sides, and a flap, one side extending above the ankle from the back to the front opening in the same piece of material as the vamp but having a cut-out part in its top front corner the lower edge of which is above the instep and ankle, a filling-piece secured to the side having said cut-out part to close the latter, the other side extending complete from the back to the front opening above the ankle in the same piece of material as the vamp, the back edges of the sides being secured together, said flap being secured to the complete side at the edge of the front opening and having its lower end laid upon the vamp and secured thereto, said flap overlying the cut-out part of the other side when buttoned, substantially as described.

3. A blank for a shoe-upper comprising a piece of material having a recess D on one side to form the upper edges of the sides, said blank also having a cut alonga line 9, h, that extends centrally along the instep to a point above the same, a out along a line from h to d extending into the upper front edge of one side above the ankle portion, and a out along a line from d to 61 to the apex of recess D, the last two mentioned cuts forming an extension on the upper front edge of one side and a recess in the corresponding edge of the other side, substantially as described.

ALFRED A. KOHN.

\Vitnesses:

O. W. WHITEHEAD, R. W. SKEHAN.

ICC

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